The Khvalynskoye gas field is a conventional gas condensate field located in the Kazahstan's sector in the northern part of the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

. It lies about 260 kilometres (161.6 mi) from Astrakhan

Astrakhan

Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...

 at a sea depth of 25 to 30 m (82 to 98.4 ). The operator of the project is Lukoil

LUKoil

Lukoil/LUKoil ; ) is Russia's second largest oil company and its second largest producer of oil. In 2009, the company produced 97.615 million tons of oil; ....

 with 50% stake. Other partners are KazMunayGas

KazMunayGas

KazMunayGas is the state-owned oil and gas company of Kazakhstan. It was founded in 2002 by merging Kazakhoil and Oil and Gas Transportation.-Subsidiaries:Main subsidiaries of KazMunayGas are:...

 (25%), Total S.A.

Total S.A.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...

 (17%), and GDF Suez

GDF Suez

GDF Suez S.A. is a French multinational energy company which operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas and renewable energy. The world's largest utility after taking control of Britain's International Power, the company was initially formed by the merger of Gaz...

 (8%).

History

Lukoil started to drill the Khvalynskaya-1 exploratory well in July 1999 by using Astra semi-submersible

Semi-submersible

A semi-submersible is a specialised marine vessel with good stability and seakeeping characteristics. The semi-submersible vessel design is commonly used in a number of specific offshore roles such as for offshore drilling rigs, safety vessels, oil production platforms and heavy lift cranes.The...

 jack-up rig. The 4200 metres (13,779.5 ft) well was completed in 2000. The Khvalynskaya-3 well was completed in 2002.

In 2003, Lukoil and KazMunayGas signed a deal on the joint development of the Khvalynskoye field. The Khvalynskoye joint venture was established in 2005. In October 2009, Kazakhstan invited Total and GDF Suez to join the project.

Reserves

The field is expected to have 322 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 17 million tons of gas condensate and 36 million tons of oil in place

Oil In Place

Oil in place is the total hydrocarbon content of an oil reservoir and is often abbreviated STOOIP, which stands for Stock Tank Original Oil In Place, or STOIIP for Stock Tank Oil Initially In Place, referring to the oil in place before the commencement of production...

. Recoverable reserves are 127 billion cubic meters of natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 and 9.6 million tons of gas condensate. The field is expected to become operational in 2016 and to produce 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The produced oil and gas will be transported to Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 through the Lukoil-operated Yuri Korchagin field

Yuri Korchagin field

The Yuri Korchagin field is an offshore oil field in the Russian sector of the North Caspian Sea. The field is located from Astrakhan and from Makhachkala at a sea depth of . The field is owned and operated by Lukoil–Nizhnevolzhskneft, a subsidiary of Lukoil. The contractor for drilling...

.